The Importance of Separate Heart Burial

At this time, the choice of where to be buried was often interpreted as an important sign of what was important to you. A common example is English nobles having their hearts transported separately to or from the Holy Land. In post-medieval periods, such as 17th century Catholic Europe, the symbolic significance of separate heart burial becomes more complicated. It became a political artifact, which was used to renew spirituality and promote new types of religious beliefs.